Most of these guys are making up for what they lack...
I used to run with the Hot Rod import scene back when it was still and underground thing. At it's peak, there was some REALLY fast cars. Most of them were loud, but not unbearably. When people on the outside saw this, they figured all they had to do was gut their cats and add a fart can then they'd be fast. Or add spoilers, body kits and what not... After a certain "Fast & Furious" movie came out, most of us left the scene because way too many Wanna-Be's screwed it up for everyone. It gave us a bad image. YES, we street raced. But it was almost always in an organized and controlled fashion. Away from the prying eyes of the public and generally on back roads or industrial parks at 2 in the morning where if anything happened... It would happen to us and NOT innocent bystanders. Same thing with motorcycles. I've been riding sportbikes for nearly all my life. Then a couple movies and rap videos come out and the wanna-be's screwed it up for the responsible folks. The majority of it is driven by the media. If it wasn't for music videos and video games, virtually no one would know about this crap. I used to live in Oakland and I heard "Iss awl 'bout da munney mang... Gotta floss (show) it if ya got it! " on a daily basis...
The public almost never see's the good, but always notices the bad...
But remember... The image is just what being shown in excess by the media right now. As soon as the TV, movie and music industries move on to something different so will the rest of these brain dead, dope smokin a-holes. 15 years ago it was boom boxes, leavin the sales tags on your shirts and wearin your pants backwards. Today hotrods are back in fashion, so are a mouth full of gold and 36 inch wheels on an 89 Buick LeSabre. Tomorrow??? Who knows....